tomsepper.net

I finally have it.. my new toy: a T-Mobile Sidekick 3. Getting it was the hard part, but I’m not going to make this a complaint post. I’m thoroughly amazed by this device.

1. Web Browsing. Amazing. It’s not some crappy WAP text browser. Nope. The SK3 has a javascript-interpreting, image-displaying engine. Granted it’s not the same as a computer or laptop, but it’s pretty damn good for an SXVGA 16-bit 65,000 color 240 x 160 screen. Browsing speed is far better than I had anticipated. It’s of course no T1/Cable or even DSL. But from my tests and such, it’s faster than dialup since it’s on the EDGE network.
2. Email. Free @tmail.com email account included! Very convenient. Ability to check other accounts, but I’ve read that email is not saved on those remote servers, so I’m reluctant to try with my main email accounts. I’ll maybe set one up just for testing later on.
3. Instant Messaging. Simple and nice. Conversations are easy to follow and participate in. I’ve tried Yahoo IM and AOL IM (AIM); it also supports MSN.. but who uses that anymore?
4. Keyboard. Very easy to adapt to. It’s not a regular keyboard, although it is QWERTY style. Some symbols are in different places, so it’s simply a matter of getting used to it.
5. “Operating System” – slick. Very slick for a handheld device such as this. It’s no OS X by any means, but it’s very nice and smooth.

A couple pics:

I was very skeptical about ordering this since I actually hadn’t heard of anyone using T-Mobile in Lubbock. But I’m quite pleased with the speed and clarity. I actually only bought the Sidekick Data Unlimited plan for $29.99/month since I’m happy with my RAZR and Cingular mobile service. Maybe I’ll just have one device sometime in the future, but not yet. Besides, voice calls are $.20/minute with my Sidekick Unlimited plan so that’s there just in case. All in all, I’m thrilled with the Sidekick 3. I’m off to enjoy it now.